Chailease to open four outlets in China

EXPANDING:The firm is to set up the new outlets by the Lunar New Year, raising the total number of offices from 17 to 21, the company’s senior vice president said

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Chailease Holding Co (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing, financing and payment installment service provider, plans to open four outlets in China next month as the firm further expands into the Chinese market.

The company, which recently marked its first anniversary of primary listing in the Taiwan Stock Exchange, has withstood China’s slowdown unscathed as its focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) paid off by holding its interest margin steady.

“Chailease is looking for stable growth in revenue and profits next year as we seek to further tap into the Chinese market,” Sharon Fan (樊梅芳), Chailease senior vice president of investors relations, said on Friday.

The company is planning to set up new outlets in Hangzhou, Jinan, Changsha and Zhengzhou by the Lunar New Year in February, raising the total number of offices from 17 to 21, in keeping with its expansion strategy of opening three to five outlets a year, the senior vice president said.

There are more than 23 million SMEs in China and Chailease serves only 5,000 at present, suggesting huge room for business growth in the future, Fan said.

SMEs financing in China enjoys a higher interest margin, which stood at 10 percent as the end of September, compared with 8 percent in Taiwan, and is expected to hold steady next year, Fan said.

Chailease posted NT$2.23 billion (US$76.83 million) in revenue last month, jumping 44 percent from the same period last year, the company said in a stock filing last week.

Cumulative sales totaled NT$19.85 billion for the first 11 months, up 30 percent from last year, the filing said.

Net profit rose 20 percent year-on-year to NT$1.24 billion during the July-to-September period, translating into earnings of NT$1.58 per share, according to the company’s report.

The Chinese market generated 33 percent of the company’s earnings in the first nine months, compared with 18 percent last year, Fan said.

She added that the contribution likely to rise to 60 percent in the next three to five years.

“China’s monetary policy has little impact on our business as SMEs there have difficulty raising funds,” she said.